Many bathing tubs, such as whirlpools, have water recirculation systems. These water recirculation systems generally include a pump, a series of recirculation lines or tubing (i.e., a harness), and one or more outlets or jets, which collectively function to draw water from inside a basin of the tub and expel this water back into the tub. During use, however, the components of the water recirculation system are exposed to water from the tub, which may include bacteria, dirt, and the like from a bather and which remain in the harness or other components of the recirculation system after use. To clean the water recirculation systems, the tub basin is at least partially filled with water, cleaning fluid is added to the water, and the recirculation system is cleaned after which the tub is drained and rinsed.
At hotels and other facilities where whirlpool tubs are used by different visitors, tubs and their recirculation systems are often cleaned daily or before receiving each new visitor, regardless of whether the tub and/or recirculation has actually been used. However, because this practice of cleaning daily or between guests does not take into account actual usage or cleanliness of the tub or recirculation system, the tub and recirculation system may be cleaned unnecessarily. Therefore, significant time, labor, cost, and water may be wasted with each cleaning.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system for better identifying actual use of a tub or exposure of a recirculation system to water for determining when the tub and/or water recirculation system should be cleaned.